We're nearly there horror lovers, it's nearly the end of our WEEK OF THE UNDEAD! Don't forget to enter the EPIC GIVEAWAY at the end of today's post, and also use the COFFIN HOP link to check out some other cool blogs.

So today's author is none other than the very awesome - Jack Wallen. he's a man of many, many talents, a writer of many books, a blogger, a narrator - even narrating one of my own books - Odium Origins Part One. Of you haven't checked out some of his work by now, then you're missing out big time. His I Zombie I series is one of my favorites.

The Jack Wallen Interview

Website | Facebook | Twitter | Zombie Radio |What do you do when you’re not writing about the end of days? If I’m not writing about the end of days, I’m writing about other dark, twisty things. When not writing, I enjoy a walk on the beach, quiet evenings...oh wait, never mind. You’ll find me riding my bike, running, playing guitar, enjoying stolen moments with the love of my life, playing with cats.Tell us about your latest book? Title: Among You

Brief run down in your own words: It’s a story about accepting yourself wrapped up in the guise of a “Monsters as the good guys” story. This book started out as a dream WAY back in high school. I eventually wrote it as a one-act play for young audiences, but new the story wasn’t complete. After much coaxing by my step-daughter, Courtney, Among You was born.

Release date: September 19th, 2014.Anything in particular that you want to say about it? Where did you get the inspiration from? Favourite characters? Tell us somethingunusual. During a curious moment, while writing the book, I found inspiration from a song by Die So Fluid. It was that moment that led me into a relationship with the band and will be writing a new book staring them. It’s a thing...you wait! ;-) Among You holds a very special place in my heart. I tried to write the book so many times before, but it seemed to never want to come out. It wasn’t until I realized I had to focus it on a bit more older crowd (high school and up) that the story finally was able to come alive.What are you working on next and when can we expect to get our greedy little mitts on it? October 31st will be the release of The Nails Of Calvary. This is the sequel to Hell’s Muse. Both of these books would fold the religious right inside out with horror.

Among You Excerpt

The second the car crossed into Tyler's End, the world – my world – changed. What I thought was going to be a visit to a first-class haunted house, turned out to be a journey into a magical world that would fold my definition of life inside out. “Scott...” Sally whispered, “look at them...everywhere.” “The costumes, the makeup...” I couldn't find the words to describe what my eyes beheld. Walking about on the streets were horrific characters, all taken from the same page of the same book. As if time had no point or place in Tyler's End, every person was dressed in a variation of the same theme – Victorian England. Waist coats, bustles, stockings, ruffles...every piece a precise turn of fashion with a twist of the macabre. It wasn't actually the clothing that brought about my bug-eyed awe. The makeup was astonishing. Every character's skin was a shade of grayish-green and looked cracked and aged by too much sun. Some had what looked like over-sized boils, threatening to pop, on their cheeks and lips. Some, mostly the males, had horns budding from the tops of their foreheads. Sally pulled the car off into a cordoned-off field for parking. “They all look so, real.” “And happy,” I added. That was quite possibly the strangest thing of all – each and every one of the characters glowed with a joy that seemed to emanate from within. They talked, laughed...sang. “This is...Sally, I don't know what to say.” We got out of the car and spun on our heels to take it all in. There was so much. Even beyond the idea that the haunt of haunts awaited me, I couldn't get over the fact that the entire city seemed to be transformed into a horror-themed delight. “It's Monsterville,” Sally said. “What,” I asked. Sally looked at me and smiled. “This place is like a town filled with monsters...Monsterville.” “God ye good eve'n,” said one of the towns folk as he passed by. The tails of his coat swept up into the wind as if to wave 'hello'. “What did he just say,” Sally asked. “He said 'Good evening' in a Victorian England colloquialism. At least I think that's what that was. Or maybe he thought one of us sneezed. I don't really know for sure.” “It doesn't matter, Scott; it's all so stinking charming.” Sally reached out her hand to me. “Come on, let's go find the house.” It wasn't hard. It seemed every member of the town criers assembly was headed in the same, general direction. That kind of deduction could be handled by a chimp. “Scott,” Sally nearly squealed. She pointed ahead. “Look at it.” It, the Gaultier House, was glorious beyond words. The building was a multi-story Victorian mansion that looked as if it had been plucked from some member of the English nobility and magically transported to the states. It was very out of place, but glorious in its oddity. Though it was certainly true to form in its architecture, there was a certain Tim Burton-esque element to the design. The manse stood three stories high with turrets on each corner that pointed and curled like elf or witch shoes. The whole of the design stood as a reminder that those who dwelled within were a nobility that no longer existed. The solid rock walls mocked anything modern builders could construct. After spying the Gaultier House, I finally managed to see the town without my usual filters. Every element of the town seemed to work its way into the fabric of Halloween. The houses and buildings all seemed, on the surface, to be normal; but when you looked closer, you spotted fragments of strangeness littering the design. One three story house looked perfectly standard from one angle. The second you shifted your view, you spotted the slant and pitch of the walls – just enough to obscure normalcy. There wasn't a straight line in sight. Every edge of every structure seemed to include some tick and trick in its shape and design. I was in heaven. Sally gave my shoulder a slap. “I think I see the ticket booth.” She took off running. I couldn't help myself but to fall into perfect lock-step with Sally. I wasn't taking any chance in losing her here. It was Halloween night – a lot of crazy would happen within the next twelve hours. It always did. We arrived at the ticket booth and dropped our cold, hard cash in front of the vendor who smiled and said, “Two tickets to the most unholy and frightening site you will ever witness. Please, make sure to pick up a brochure that explains everything you will need to know, before entering the double door entryway.” Both Sally and I had our faces buried in the pamphlets, so we hardly noticed the two, be-costumed girls rush past us. “Are we the only people here not dressed up,” asked Sally. “I feel so out of place.” She was right. We were in an overwhelming minority. In the midst of the velvet and lace, we stood in denim and fake leather. I wasn't sure why every eyeball wasn't trained on us to ask if we failed to receive the memo about dressing the part. “OMG,” proclaimed Sally. “There it is.” My eyes followed her point and beheld what had to be the most wondrous spectacle I'd ever seen in my short lifetime. Seeing the house from even the slightest distance was one thing. Up close and personal brought everything into perspective. The house was tremendous in size and design. A perfect replica of a period long since forgotten. And yet...this wasn't a rebuild of a collapsed manse from days gone by – this was very real, very complete, and very... “Amazing,” squealed Sally. “Scott, you must be peeing your pants. Scott? Earth to Scott.” I hadn't heard her. I was too lost from taking in everything from every direction. “I'm sorry, Sally. I just...” “I know. Take your time; drink it all in.” I felt like I was a little kid again, stepping foot on Disneyland soil for the first time. My world, always so small, had officially grown to magnificent proportions. Someone had reached their taloned fingers into my dreams and ripped the fantastical out, only to make it real in Tyler's End.

I am so pleased to have the most creatively awesome and cool dude Jack Wallen on the blog today, sharing his newest novel THE LAST CASKET, featuring the very awesome band - KITTY IN A CASKET. I was oh so freaking lucky to beta read this brilliant book a while back, and it is by far one of the most original zombie concepts that I've read in quite a while.It's funny, cool, hip, gory and zombilicious! I'm really happy to announce that he's also planning others in this series- a spin off from his crazy cool I ZOMBIE SERIES. (Also another series that you should go out and get your hands on.)So, let me introduce you to Jack and his awesome book.BIO:

Jack Wallen was weaned on the cheesy horror of the 70s and 80s. Thanks to the wonder of Sammy Terry and Elvira, he was hooked on the genre early. That love for the spooktacular made it clear there was no choice for Jack but to focus his writing on the dark fantastic.

Of course, the Muse is a fickle creature and insisted Jack branch out to other genres such as steampunk, thrillers, superhero parody, and even what Jack calls “parahorror romance”.

Jack is a happily married ex Hoosier (I know, boo and hiss, right?), who also happens to fancy himself a crazy cat person as well as a cyclist and a lover of music and movies (favorite bands – Rush, Coheed & Cambria, Paramore, The Fixx...you get the idea).

In this spinoff of the popular I Zombie series, it's ghouls versus guitars in a post-apocalyptic dive bar, as psychobilly band Kitty in a Casket discover zombies, cannibalism and the Mengele Virus have crashed their latest gig.

When face-melting rock faces off against the undead horde, who will be left standing?

Published by: Autumnal Press

Anything in particular that you want to say about it?

If you're a fan of rockabilly – especially the band Kitty in a Casket – you'll want to get your hands on this. The idea for the series was given the green light by Kitty Casket and they are thrilled to be part of the I Zombie universe.

This spin off will be a bit lighter than the I Zombie books, but there will no shortage of zombies, rock, and thrills.

Peppered throughout the story you'll find lyrics from actual Kitty in a Casket songs as well as original lyrics I've written for song that do not (as of yet) exist.

I've been a fan of Kitty in a Casket for a long time now and was honoured they were as excited as I about this project.

What are you working on next and when can we expect to get our greedy little mitts on it?

I've actually completed the first and second drafts of the seventh novel in the I Zombie series, Cry Zombie Cry. This was the first book I've written to star a internationally recorded band – in this case, the Polish metal band, UNSUN. For this novel I belive I've done something no one else has tried and cannot wait to unleash it on the zpoc-loving world.

The hold up on the publication of this novel is the wait for UNSUN to finish recording their next album. For their next release, I have penned a few lyrics for the band (one song is “Cry Zombie Cry”). Our plan is to do a simultaneous release and offer a special edition of the CD that comes with the digital version of the book.

So…what is this? This blog tour is where writers and authors answer questions about their writing process.I was invited to this event by the creeptastic Rhonda Hopkins. You can read about her process here: Rhonda Hopkins Blog | Rhonda Hopkins Facebook I’ve been enjoying the other posts coming up and seeing other authors processes, and I hope that you will too.

I love writing these novellas, probably more than the full books they go with. There’s a lot of thought and background work which goes into each character in the books, and this information rarely gets used for anything other than just me getting to know the character fully. Certainly no one would normally see this background history. But this is where all the fun begins for me, building that character profile, their history and such. These novellas show certain parts of the characters’ lives. Obviously I can’t do every character, so I hand pick some of my favourite for readers to get a deeper look at, and hopefully give more depth to these characters for them.

After Odium Origins Pt 2, I’ll be working on a short piece I’m writing as part of a collaboration with two other great writers.It’s about three serial killers and the nature vs nurture aspect I guess. I can’t say much more than that now, but needless to say I’m having great fun writing it! After that it will be the (long awaited) ‘Limerence II. Mia’ and a ton of other short stories that I’ve been working on for other anthology collaborations.2) How does my work differ from others of its genre? People have told me that my writing style is very physical, in the sense that you get to ‘touch’ ‘smell’ and ‘feel’ what each character goes through. Making the characters as real as possible for the reader I think helps. I love writing old schoolstyle horror as well. Shuffling zombies, bloodthirsty vampires, no new angles, just plain, simple horror.

3) Why do I write what I do?

So far I’ve only written dark paranormal and horror, but I do have several erotic romance stories under way and a crimethriller. I like to read pretty much any genre, believing that you should be as open as possible when reading, and thatopens up a lot of the genres for writing too. So far I’ve stuck with horror as this is what I’ve always known. For as farback as I can remember I’ve been thinking up creepy little tales ha ha.

4) How does your writing process work?

Generally I’ll write out a plot which will be anything from 5’000 to 10’000 words. Then I start writing. Nine times out of ten, the story ends up so different from my actual plot that I wonder why I even bothered writing one in the first place! BUTwhen I’m stuck in a rut and fighting writers block, I do find that re-reading my plot outline gets the juices going again and helps get me back on track.

So, I try—I really try, to outline and plot, but generally my best ideas come to me when I let go and let my characters goand do their own thing, surprising us both!

So now it’s my turn to invite three authors to carry on the blog tour. I’m going to invite the following:Ken Mooney—he was born in Dublin in the middle of the 1980s; he still lives there. He holds a degree in English Studiesfrom TCD, which he totally uses every day during his day-job in TV advertising...totally. He's always been obsessed with stories, reading, writing and playing them; that explains the massive collection of books, comics, video games and discarded Word documents. His writing is a combination of all the things that he's passionate about, all the way through high-and-low-brow.

Godhead is his first novel, an idea that's been floating around his head for nearly fifteen years; there might even be a (few) sequel(s) if he ever gets around to writing them...Ken Mooney Facebook

Tracey Ward—author of the Quarantined Series and the Survival Series plus many more.She was born in Eugene, Oregon and studied English Literature at the University of Oregon (Go Ducks!) It was there thatshe discovered why Latin is a dead language and that being an English teacher was not actually what she wanted to dowith her life. Her husband, son and snuggly pitbull are her world.Tracey Ward FacebookJack Wallen—His works span genres and weave evil, conspiracy, and fear into nightmarish worlds.

Jack has been given the title "Zombie King" by his readers and fans. He didn't garner that title by dining on the brains of helpless victims. It was only after writing until his fingers and mind were nothing but meat for the beasts that he became a master of the zombie genre. During that haunted hay ride Jack produced works of fiction enjoyable by not just zombie fans, but anyone daring to take a peek into what might possibly become of humanity. Of course, being of the insane writer clan, Jack isn't just happy with the penning of zombie fiction. Oh no, the nightmaredoes not end there. Like the late, great Freddy Mercury, Jack wants it all -- so, he will continue twisting the horror genre to meet his disturbed mind as well as write his Fringe Killer and Screampark series, and his joyous celebration ofall things diverse -- Shero. For his inspiration to begin reading and writing, Jack thanks the ever-incredible Clive Barker for penning in a genre withwords of grace and horror.Jack Wallen Facebook

Yeah, you read it right. A double-whammy cover reveal. Two of my favourite authors decided to have kick-ass covers at the same time, so I thought what better way to celebrate the fact than to have both of them reveal all on my blog? Oooh err, not that kind of reveal! Though I'm sure if you ask them both nicely...

First up, meet Jack Wallen. Jack's been writing books for a long time, as you can see from his long list of books, but he's actually relatively new to me. I met him through a group last year and I haven't been able to put down his books since.HIs fans call him the Zombie King, and I can see why.

Jack Wallen is a seeker of truth and a writer of words. Although he resides in the unlikely city of Louisville, Kentucky, he likes to think of himself more as an interplanetary soul … or so he tells the reflection in the mirror. He's also the author of:

Jack Wallen's THE LAST CASKET COVER REVEAL

And To Whet Your Appetite, Below Is An Excerpt From The Upcoming Book

Last Casket Excerpt

ACT 1 one | a hell of a showEverything has changed

Standing here alone again It's time for my revenge You put me in this casket But this won't stop me You need to burn in hell No need to run away I will find you anyway ...Bride of the MonsterWham! The crunch of the heavy Ibanez ARZ-Series guitar against the back of the zombie's skull sent a screeching feedback through the Blackstar Club 50s amplifier speaker. The sound momentarily stopped the undead bar fight. “Kitty,” Todd Flash shouted. “Run.” Kitty Casket was at the lip of the stage, surrounded by zombies, mic in hand and ready to crush any skull to get within striking range. “Come on, baby,” Kitty squealed, “it's open mic night.” With a quick windup, Kitty drove the back side of the mic through an eyeball of the nearest undead groupie. The pop of the optical membrane sent chills down her arm and bile up her throat. “Oh hell,” Kitty protested. “I think I'm going to barf!” Kitty withdrew the blackish-brown goo covered mic and the zombie dropped with a hollow, wet thud. “Incoming.” The shout came from behind. “Kitty, duck.” The raging voice belonged to Mike Machine. Kitty knew better than to not comply. The second she dropped to a crouch, a golden cymbal flew over her head and embedded itself into the neck of a monster. The beast didn't drop. “Fuck,” Tom screamed as he continued forward. “Tom, don't,” Kitty pled. Tom was never one to listen. He jumped and landed the sole of his creeper into the symbol to finish the job. The head and the symbol crashed to the floor. “Come on, ya ugly bastard.” Billy the Bat was still cranking out power chords as he shouted threats to the undead audience. With each chord the zombies stuttered – almost as if the sound was painful. “Billy, the zombies say you suck,” teased Kitty. “Oh yeah,” Billy replied. “They can suck on this.” Instead of battling back the approaching undead duo, Billy began playing a rockabilly take on Ozzy Osbourne's Crazy Train. The zombies weren't impressed and marched onward. It was Tom Mooner to the rescue. He hefted his Fender Squire above his head and dropped it down to cave in the skull of one of the zombies. “That's how it goes,” laughed Tom. One moaner remained. The entire band gathered together, encircling the monster. “Here zombie, zombie, zombie. Kitty wanna play. Rowr.” Kitty teased the zombie. When it turned to face her, Billy the Bat ran a switchblade into the base of its skull. As the zombie dropped, lifeless again, to its knees, the band booed and hissed. “What? I killed it.” Billy protested. “Yah, but we were feeling kinda playful. Ya know, give the fucker a show and then, blamo, cave in its frontal lobes.” “Hey, they're all dead. We did it.” Kitty was glowing with pride. “That was a hell of a show.” Billy the Bat cleaned off his knife as he spoke. “Our best yet...if you take into consideration our entire audience was comprised of the undead. Actually, this kind of sucked. We need real, living people to play for.” “And to pay us.” Tom's interjection sucked the wind out of the band. “This damned apocalypse,” Kitty started, “it's impossible to find gigs. Before, our only competition was the likes of Nekromantix and Horror Pops. Now we're facing down the living dead and empty venues. I thought the apocalypse would bring a sort of perfect storm for us. I mean, come on, this is our schtick. We own this theme, right?” The band nodded their heads in unison. “So why in the hell can't we find gigs?” Billy raised his hand. Kitty hissed. “Oh for God's sake, Billy, this isn't a classroom. Put your hand down.” “Did you ever stop to think no one wants live music now because of the noise? I mean, it is noise that attracts the undead, right?” Billy challenged the group. Kitty stepped in close to the guitarist. “What are you saying, Mr. Bat?” Billy's eyes darted to the left and the right, his lip quivered slightly, and his forehead broke out into a sweat. “I'm saying...I don't really know what I'm saying, actually.” Mike Machine stepped in to save the day. “He's saying we need to find some isolated club where our ear-splitting decibels won't attract the attention of the less-than living.” “You mean the Mengelites?” Tom Flash interrupted. The band booed. “Oh come on, it's a catchy name.” Tom defended himself. “Seriously, it makes sense. The Mengele Virus is what did them in...hence Mengelites.” “It's offensive,” Kitty spat. “It's almost as if you're glorifying one of the sickest Germans to ever exist.” The idea that the virus which brought about the apocalypse was an extension of Josef Mengele's work didn't rest easy on the hearts of Germans. Most survivors on the planet were quick to forget that point. To many of German descent, it was a painful reminder of yet another very dark time of their people “Come on,” Tom chimed in. “Let's pack up so we can try to locate this Nirvana that Mike mentioned.” After a round of groans, the band began the slow process of packing up their gear and loading it into the Kitty Mobile. The van was a take on the Scooby Doo Van, only with a predominantly feline theme. Splashed on the side of the van was the band's logo and Kitty's coiffed and lipstick'd visage. The van had already been attacked by numerous zombies as well as a few groups of living humans who simply had enough of walking. Unfortunately, there was little extra room once the gear and the band were on board. Before leaving the club, Kitty made one last walk-through in search of food and booze. As she stood in the exit, she turned back and purrred before hitting the lights and strutting out to the van. Meow, sexy kitty, meow.

Eli Constant: DEAD TREES 2 Reveal

And now reveal number two.The extremely talented Eli Constant, one of my very favourite authors of 2013, with possibly my most anticipated book of 2014! Seriously, I can not wait to read this damn book.Dead Trees 2 is coming May 2nd and I can't wait to one-click this. After reading the snippet Eli sent us, I know that it's going to be a killer book.So, have a read, stare in awe at the creepy as hell cover, add it to your Goodreads shelf and join her event to help celebrate her upcoming release. You won't be dissapointed.

* * * *Eli Constant is a genre-jumping detail junkie, obsessed with the nature of humanity. She believes that there’s beauty at the core of most everything, but that truly unredeemable characters create the best stories. Eli is the author of “Dead Trees,” “Mastic,”“DRAG.N” and is a contributor to the upcoming charity anthology “Let’s Scare Cancer to Death,” benefiting the V Foundation.

Eli lives in Virginia with her husband and two daughters. She is surrounded by battlefield country, farmland and lakes. Currently, she spends her days being a devoted mother and, of course, writing. Eli feels fortunate that her marriage is one of real love and she thinks her children are the coolest people in the world. She also feels so lucky to have an extended family that is ever present with encouragement and kind words.

When it comes to her writing, Eli has one ultimate goal: to become better with each word written. She is obsessed with the nature of humanity- the innocent, the corrupted and the confused. She’s always been a great lover of Science Fiction, but has also grown to truly appreciate other genres, especially Horror and Fantasy. Looking back on her debut novel “Dead Trees,” Eli wouldn’t change a thing. She feels like she learned from the experience and has grown exponentially as an author since its publication. Her most recent work, “Mastic,” is best described as an urban paranormal thriller with a softer side- touches of romance, hidden feelings and bridled lust.

This month, Eli will be featured in a charity anthology organized by the fabulous TW Brown. She is thrilled to note that 100% of sale proceeds will go to benefit the V Foundation, a leader in cancer research for the past twenty years. Keep posted on this upcoming publication by following Eli on twitter or facebook. Eli’s works in progress include the much anticipated sequel to Dead Trees, a 3-author anthology exploring the psychosis of serial killers, a 6-author anthology exploring humanity in the face of hopelessness and a zombie origins novel (this last work in progress comes as a huge surprise to Eli; she honestly thought she’d never write about zombies, but somehow, she fell down the zombie hole and couldn’t crawl out, or rather, didn’t want to crawl out).(Mwuah ahahaha, sorry, Eli. I'm a bad influence!)

Two years of peace in a primitive setting can make anyone forget a past full of science, beasties, and blood. But when that past comes flooding back- with razor-sharp talons and speed- to pillage the present, who will survive?

See, don't say I don't treat you well!So you have a couple of new books to look foreward to, but don't worry, I'll be sure to remind you when the time comes, you can also look foreward to reading my reviews of these books when they come out.